Finds 'Complex Chemistry' Including Water

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has used its full array of instruments to analyze Martian soil for the first time, and found a complex chemistry within the Martian soil. Water and sulfur and chlorine-containing substances, among other ingredients, showed up in samples Curiosity's arm delivered to an analytical laboratory inside the rover.

Would Open Nearly 278,000 Acres Off The Rhode Island, Massachusetts, And Virginia Coasts For Wind Energy

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced competitive lease sales for renewable energy development in two wind energy areas (WEAs) in federal waters last week. Wind farms have often been questioned by the aviation community because of possible interference with radar used by air traffic control, as well as being a potential navigation hazard.

First Airbus Widebody Aircraft To Be Delivered To Iraq

On behalf of Iraqi Ministry of Transportation, Iraqi Airways, the national carrier of Iraq, has taken delivery of its first A330-200 becoming a new operator for the type. This will be the first Airbus widebody aircraft to be operated by Iraqi Airways. The carrier already operates two A321 aircraft.

Will Also Be Required To Pay A $10,000 Fine

A Colorado Judge has sentenced a California pilot to two years probation and imposed a $10,000 fine for transporting 55 pounds of marijuana the pilot said was for medical use. Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvihill thought that explanation was a little thin.

New Certification Allows The Repair Station To Service Equipment For Civil Aircraft Registered In Europe

EASA has granted Part 145 certification to Northrop Grumman for its repair station in Rolling Meadows, IL. The company's repair station was established to meet regulatory requirements for customers operating aircraft under civil aviation rules.

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Aircraft To Be Flown For VIP/Corporate Transport

An additional preliminary order for one AW169 light intermediate twin-engine helicopter and a contract for one AW139 intermediate twin engine helicopter for VIP/corporate missions have been placed by Kaan Air, based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated, an operator and the manufacturer of the powerful heavy-lift helicopter, the Erickson S-64 Aircrane, has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire 14 helicopters and associated personnel and assets from HRT Participacoes em Petroleo, S.A. (HRT).

Nefertiti Had Spent 100 Days In Space Aboard The ISS

It's not often that the death of a spider would make the news, but just about everyone would agree that this was a very special spider. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History said Monday that Nefertiti, the “Spidernaut,” which had spent 100 days in space as part of a student-initiated experiment aboard the ISS, had died.

U.S. Responds That All Are Accounted For

The U.S. Navy has responded to claims by the Iranian government that it has captured an unmanned aircraft by saying that all of its drones are accounted for. But they leave open the possibility that it may have been a ScanEagle that had been lost previously and retrieved from the ocean by Iran.

AOPA was busy over the Thanksgiving holiday - no doubt giving thanks for its millions of dollars in cash reserves, as it has moved to form the AOPA Holding Corporation - a presumably 'for profit' group charged with investing in aviation businesses. While that move raises questions of its own, the choice of the man to lead the group raises even more. If you rushed out and bought a 406 ELT based on our report last week that the Bahamas would soon require installation of such equipment… I hope you kept your receipt. After our story of the looming February 2013 deadline went public, the Civil Aviation Ministry of the Bahamas has extended the waiver for the installation of 406 MHz E

AOPA was busy over the Thanksgiving holiday - no doubt giving thanks for its millions of dollars in cash reserves, as it has moved to form the AOPA Holding Corporation - a presumably 'for profit' group charged with investing in aviation businesses. While that move raises questions of its own, the choice of the man to lead the group raises even more. If you rushed out and bought a 406 ELT based on our report last week that the Bahamas would soon require installation of such equipment… I hope you kept your receipt. After our story of the looming Februar

Thoughts and Observations By ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell
You must be the change you'd like to see in the world…"
Mahatma Gandhi
Preface: This missive is long, it rambles, it covers a lot of ground and it takes its own sweet time getting to the point… but hopefully it will say (to you) what I want it to and convey the issues that I want to discuss. Just please bear with me, consider my words carefully and if anything we’ve ever done has had any lasting value to you, I hope you’ll help us stay on this amazing path – Jim

Top Executive Ranks Shuffled By Commercial Airplanes Chief Ray Conner

Boeing projects the world's airlines should see reasonable liquidity and pricing for new-aircraft delivery financing in 2013 even as jet builders ramp up production to meet demand, the manufacturer announced here today in issuing its fifth annual finance market forecast.

Part 1: Late Night With The Saturn V

For months we had been told that Apollo 17 would be the end of the Apollo program. Some in the media, such as the ever-pompous David Brinkley, reported the story almost gleefully. For me, a ninth grader and rabid space-buff, the excitement of the coming mission seemed tempered with the first doubt about the future of America’s manned spaceflight program.

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Report: Radar Track Showed A 'Cluster Of Primary Targets'

The NTSB's preliminary report for an accident involving a Cessna 421 on a flight under VFR conditions from California to Nebraska in November indicates that the airplane broke up in flight. The report says that there was a "five-mile-long cluster of primary targets" showing no altitude information on the airplane's route of flight. Two people were fatally injured in the accident.

Permanently-Mounted Unit For The Experimental And Light Sport Market

Dynon Avionics is now shipping the SV-ADSB-470 UAT Band Traffic and Weather Receiver for the SkyView system. This remotely mounted receiver module integrates with the SkyView system to provide easy access to weather and traffic information on top of the detailed navigational information SkyView already provides.

One Of Those Charged Was An Airline Pilot

A plot to illegally ship aircraft parts to Iran has led to guilty pleas by the two men charged in the scheme. The two were stopped before any parts were shipped in violation of the embargo. The two men pled guilty to charges related to unlawful export of aircraft and aircraft parts from the United States to Iran.

Claims Operations Will Not Affect Current Uses, Comments Close This Month

LightSquared has popped up on the radar again, and this time the company which has been trying for some time to establish a wireless 4G LTE data network is proposing to share spectrum with NOAA weather balloons.

New Engines Proving Popular In The Established CTLS Airframe

The first Flight Design CTLSi airplanes powered by the new fuel-injected Rotax 912 iS engine have landed in the U.S., and many have reportedly been delivered to customers both in the United States and abroad.

"We expect that despite economic and political challenges, global air travel will again demonstrate its remarkable resilience in 2013." Source: Kostya Zolotusky, managing director of capital markets development and leasing at Boeing Capital Corp.